The Tragic Tale of the Boy Who Lived and the Boy Who Wanted to Die [ON HIATUS]

The next few weeks went by quickly. Now having the ability to use both his arms, his Potions grade skyrocketed. He still avoided Potter and Snape as much as he could, but he was more focused on the upcoming holidays than anything else. It seemed all the start-of-term dread was behind him, as Christmas rapidly approached.

He had already written to his mother to tell her not to expect him home for the holidays; he was going to go, but Theo talked him out of it.

“Oh c’mon, Draco, there’s a visit to Hogsmeade soon, we can go together! Besides, it’s not Christmas without you here.”

Draco had to admit that staying at Hogwarts with Theo and Blaise sounded much funner than going back home. Pansy and Daphne were both going home, however, and were very busy packing, so they didn’t bother going to Hogsmeade.

Hogsmeade looked gorgeous, with all the snow. It reminded Draco of an illustration he had seen in a book, many years ago. He had long since forgotten the name, or any of the actual plot, but he could remember the picture vividly. It was of a beautiful snow-covered house, with a beautiful green wreath on the door, and smoke coming out of the chimney. It was the type of place that Draco dreamed of spending Christmas in.

The first thing the three of them did was go to Honeydukes. It was Draco’s favourite shop in the whole town.

“Why don’t we split up to get each other’s presents?” Blaise asked.

“Sure, but I’ve already got your guys' presents.” Theo replied.

“Ok, meet you guys back in the common room!” Blaise said, before turning around and leaving the shop.

“Could I stay with you, Draco? I don’t fancy walking around alone.” Theo asked.

“Sure. Just don’t tell Blaise what I’m getting him.” Draco replied.

“I won’t. And you can't let me see the present you get me. I want it to be a surprise.” Theo said.

“Don’t worry. What do you even want?” Theo was silent for a moment, before he spoke again.

“Probably just a book or something, no need to over-do it. I have always wanted an animal… But honestly, I really don’t care.” They wandered the streets of Hogsmeade for about an hour before Draco found something good for Blaise.

“How about some gifts from Zonko’s? He would like those, wouldn’t he?” Draco asked Theo.

“Yeah, I bet he would love something from there.” They ended up getting a whole load of things from Zonko’s, not just a gift for Blaise. They got Dungbombs, Dr. Filibuster’s Fireworks, and loads of other things.

“I’m going to go find him now, so you can buy my gift.” Theo set off to find Blaise, while Draco wandered around, looking into shops. Soon, he came across an old shop called Brood and Peck. As soon as he looked inside, he knew what he was getting Theo.

The cat’s name was Flurry, and she was 2 years old. She was white and grey, and seemed very cuddly. As Draco walked out of Brood and Peck’s he wondered how in the world he was going to hide this from Theo. He also stopped in the book shop and bought Theo a few books on cats. He felt a bit foolish, carrying a 16 pound cat wrapped in his cloak down the streets of Hogsmeade. He decided he would hide the cat in Ginny’s dormitory, but he had to get back before Blaise and Theo.

“What is that?” Ginny asked as Draco made it into the common room, out of breath from running the whole way.

“Theo’s Christmas present. Can you help me hide it?”

“You want me to help you hide a cat?” She stared at Flurry incredulously.

“Please?”

“Oh alright fine. Give it here. What’s its name?” Ginny asked, taking the cat. Flurry seemed incredibly friendly.

“Her name’s Flurry. She’s a British Shorthair.”

“I can’t believe you got Theo a cat. You better have gotten me a good present, because this is a bit excessive.” Draco had already gotten her present over the summer, when he was looking through the attic. He was quite bored, and found a few good things up there for Pansy and Daphne as well.

Ginny set up a place for Flurry up in her dormitory, and came back down looking pleased.

“She loves it. I really love cats, so she will be in good hands. If Theo doesn’t want her, I could always keep her.” Ginny said.

“If Theo doesn’t want her, then you can have her.” Draco replied. Him and Ginny sat down onto the couch, and had their first real conversation they had all year, about Quidditch.

“Now I’ll be able to play again!” Draco said enthusiastically.

“Good. Flint’s been asking me every practice if you were better yet. He thinks you're the best Seeker Slytherin’s had in ages, and he isn’t very happy that his favourite player hasn’t flown in months.” Ginny replied.

When Theo and Blaise got back, Theo was holding a letter.

“This is for you. We saw your owl out there, and he let me take the letter. It- it’s from your father.” Draco hesitantly opened the letter, and read it aloud for Theo, Blaise, and Ginny.

“Dear Draco, I write this letter to inform you that the hippogriff that attacked you has been put on trial. I, personally, will be pushing for the death penalty-” Draco paused, taking in what he had just read.

“They’re going to kill it?” exclaimed Ginny.

“They- Maybe. I don’t know.” said Draco, his hand trembling. He never meant to cause this to happen. He never wanted that hippogriff dead. He didn’t finish reading the letter, just placed it onto the common room table. It was silent for a minute, but it felt longer. Draco couldn’t believe that just an hour ago, he had been having the time of his life in Hogsmeade.

“That hippogriff didn’t even do any real lasting damage, Draco, I’m sure it’ll get off.” Theo assured him.

“I guess, but my father…” Draco didn’t finish his sentence. He knew if his father wanted that hippogriff dead, he would make sure it ended up dead.

“Don’t worry, Draco, I’m sure we can do something about it.” Ginny said. Draco wanted to believe her, but he knew that it wasn’t true.

“Maybe… I’m going to go wrap presents, since the holidays start tomorrow. I’ll see you guys later.” He grabbed his bag, which was full of Zonko’s products and Theo’s books, and went up to his dormitory. Half an hour later, Theo came up to join him.

“I’m really sorry about the hippogriff, I know there’s no way you wanted it dead.” Theo said, sitting down on the bed next to Draco.

“It’s okay, Theo, it isn’t your fault. Like you said, it’ll probably get off.” Draco replied. He still really doubted that the hippogriff would get off, but he didn’t want Theo to worry about him.

“You really can’t catch a break, can you?”

“I guess not.” They were both silent after that, but Theo did not leave Draco, and stayed with him for the rest of the day.